Mass merchandisers in particular, and smaller marketers as well utilize great numbers of merchandise display hooks, which are mounted on perforated panels, slat walls or the like accommodating variable placement of the hooks. The hooks support a plurality of items of merchandise, usually packaged with header cards formed with openings at the top to receive the display hook.
Large numbers of display hooks are formed with a label-mounting arm extending forwardly, above the merchandise supporting arm and provided at its outer end extremity with a means for mounting a label displaying pricing and other information. A widely used form of such merchandise hooks is provided with a label-mounting arm having an L-shaped bend at its forward extremity, disposed horizontally and at right angles to the primary label mounting arm and serving as a label support element. The transversely disposed label support element provides a means for mounting a plastic label holder on which, or in which, a label is positioned with the desired pricing and other information.
The above described display hooks are in widespread use throughout the world, and are very popular with merchandisers. Nevertheless, they are subject to certain shortcomings having to do with the forms of plastic label holders mounted thereon. One common form is of extruded construction, with a groove running across the back wall of the label holder for receiving the label-mounting arm of the hook. This form of label holder is inexpensive, but has certain shortcomings in that careless workers can easily cause the label holders to be installed in an offset position relative to the display hook, or the label holder, if installed properly, can later become dislodged to an offset position, lending a disordered appearance to an overall display. Additionally, the display hooks, which are formed of wire, are manufactured and sold in several wire sizes, to accommodate displayed merchandise of different sizes and weights. The extruded form of label holder typically will require a separate groove for each wire size it is expected to accommodate, this not only adds extra material, but requires that the store personnel insert the display hook in the proper groove.
Because of the need and desirability for properly orienting and positioning the plastic label holder with respect to the display hook, such label holders frequently are of molded plastic construction. Molded label holders tend to be relatively costly, however, and merchandisers thus tend to prefer label holders of extruded construction, which are less costly, although in many cases functionally inferior.